Reviewing the Drama: Broadway, Off-Broadway, Ballet, Movies, and TV Reviews

Leading Lady Set for Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 Pierre  has found his Natasha. Denee Benton will star as Natasha opposite the previously announced Josh Groban (as Pierre) in the Broadway bow of Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 . Benton starred in the recent American Repertory Theater run of the show (see the production photo at right). Natasha... , written by Dave Malloy ( Preludes ), still does not have a theatre, and specific dates have not been announced, but the show is expected to begin previews in September.  Theater Mania has more. Cate Blanchett to Make Broadway Debut Academy Award winner (and current nominee ) Cate Blanchett ( Blue Jasmine , Carol ) will make her long-anticipated Broadway debut this fall. She'll appear in The Present , a new play adapted from Chekhov's Platonov . The adaptation was written by Blanchett's husband and frequent artistic collaborator, Andrew Upton , and premiered in Blanchett's native Aus...

Behind the Scenes at Shuffle Along... CBS Sunday Morning takes you behind the scenes during rehearsals for the upcoming Shuffle Along, or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and all that Followed . Billed as a revival, the show is an adaptation, of sorts, of the 1921 musical, Shuffle Along . As director and book writer George C. Wolfe explains in the segment, they are telling the story of Shuffle Along as well as the story of what was happening backstage and culturally when Shuffle Along hit Broadway. Choreographed by Savion Glover , Shuffle Along... boasts a cast that includes Audra McDonald ( Porgy and Bess ), Billy Porter ( Kinky Boots ), Joshua Henry ( Violet ), Brian Stokes Mitchell ( Women on the Verge... ), and Brandon Victor Dixon ( The Wild Party ).  Previews at the historic Music Box Theatre begin March 15, 2016, with opening night set for April 28. Watch the Sunday Morning piece below, and then head to shufflealongbroadway.com to learn more and to...

“Compromise or persevere?” This is the crossroads at which Jon, one week from turning 30, finds himself in Jonathan Larson ’s autobiographical memoir/show, tick, tick…BOOM! , which just completed a celebrated one-weekend run at the Encores! Off-Center series.  As program notes state, tick, tick…BOOM! was “first performed as a solo rock monologue by Jonathan Larson in 1990. After Laron’s untimely death in 1996 [on the eve of Rent ’s off-Broadway opening], it was revamped by playwright David Auburn as a three-actor piece.” It played off-Broadway (with Raul Esparza ( Company , Leap of Faith ) as Jon) in June 2001, and a cast recording was released in September of that year. The show became a cult favorite and has had continued life over the last 13 years, but this Encores! production marks the first major production in New York since 2001. I’ve been listening to this for 13 years. Jonathan Larson’s truth has always resonated. In fact, last year, on my 30th birthday, I lis...

Caissie Levy, who was wonderful in Hair and Ghost , has released her debut solo album, With You , which consists of indie-rock arrangements of songs from her iconic shows. What’s so wonderful about With You is that it demonstrates the power of a good cover. A good cover allows you to hear a song you know for the first time again, and in that “first” listen you get to discover the song’s beauty anew. Levy succeeds in this objective, bringing new depth to songs I’ve listened to thousands of times (like Hair ’s “Walking in Space”) and beautiful vocal arrangements and nuances to others (like Rent ’s “Without You,” which has a bit of the devastating “With You,” from Ghost , mixed in). Brava, Caissie Levy!  With You is available from iTunes, CD Baby , Spotify and other music retailers.

West Side Story Back on the Big Screen Fans of the seminal musical will thrill to know that in honor of the movie's 50th anniversary, West Side Story will be screened in movie theaters nationwide on Wednesday, November 9, at 7pm. Though it began life on stage, many folks know West Side Story from its movie adaptation, starring Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood as the star cross'd Tony and Maria. (Rita Moreno played Anita, once again tackling on screen a role originated on stage by Chita Rivera.) This is one of those Fathom, one-night, one-time events, so read the press release for more details. The Muppets You know that The Muppets , the new Muppet movie from Jason Segel, is coming to theaters next month, right? Well, they just released the track listing for the movie's soundtrack and it looks awesome. Included on the album are old Muppet standards, like "Mahna Mahna," brand new sure-to-be Muppet standards and Muppet covers of pop songs, like "Smells Like T...

Gavin Creel, On the Record In a new Broadwayworld.com feature , Gavin Creel ( Hair ) talks about making his own music. This multi-talented artist and activist (he co-founded Broadway Impact , which advocates for marriage equality) says his musical influences are simple: "good beats, great hooks, sex in sound." Amen to that, Gavin! Gavin has already released two solo albums and his third is almost ready to "drop." (And, according to the Gavin Creel Newsletter I received this week, Gavin's working on a musical (of sorts) that was presented over the summer in Williamstown! Stay tuned for details.) Playbill.com Cue & A You probably recall that Playbill.com regularly asks those treading the boards to fill out their questionnaire. This week, the lovely Jennifer Damiano (excellent in Next to Normal and currently impressive in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark ) answered the questions. Head on over to Playbill.com to learn fun facts about the talented young...

Patti LuPone and Inigo Montoya Well, really it's LuPone and Mandy Patinkin, but I LOVE The Princess Bride , so I couldn't resist! The acclaimed stage vets will bring their concert, An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin , to Broadway's Barrymore Theatre for a limited engagement beginning November 16. Visit Playbill.com for more details. NYC Ballet in Vail Members of New York City Ballet are in Vail, Colorado, for the Vail International Dance Festival. The New York Times has a terrific slide show of photos, taken by the dancers, of dancers in rehearsal and at play around beautiful Vail. (I particularly like this photo of Tyler Angle and Wendy Whelan performing Christopher Wheeldon's Polyphonia .) NYCB's fall season starts September 13 and the box office opens August 8. Visit nycballet.com to learn about the season (which includes a new Peter Martins ballet scored by Sir Paul McCartney!) and to purchase tickets. Jason Bateman Visits The Daily Show The Da...

Rent is Back As you may recall, Rent is coming back to New York, this time off-Broadway. This week, the cast was announced. Starring as Mark Cohen will be Next to Normal and Peter and the Starcatcher alumnus Adam Chanler-Berat. He'll be joined by Annaleigh Ashford ( Hair and Heathers ) as Maureen, American Idiot alumni Ben Thompson and Corbin Reid and others. Visit Playbill.com for full casting information. Theatre World Awards These awards, honoring actors' New York stage debuts, were presented on Monday night. Honorees included Ellen Barkin, Halley Feiffer, Grace Gummer, Arian Moayed, Tony Sheldon and War Horse 's Seth Numrich. Broadwayworld.com has full photo coverage, including arrivals and the ceremony, part one and part two . Broadwayworld.com Audience Awards Readers had the chance to vote for their favorites in Broadwayworld.com's Audience Awards. Fans chose The Book of Mormon as their favorite musical and Rory O'Malley as their favorite featured ac...

American Idiot on Tour As announced a few weeks ago, American Idiot will hit the road this fall. Producers made the official announcement this week, though no dates or cities have been announced. But the exciting part is that producers are holding open casting call for all the roles for the touring production. According to the Playbill.com announcement , open calls will be held in LA on March 5; in Toronto on March 26; in Boston on April 9; and in Chicago on April 23. Thespians in their early to late 20s hoping to become an Idiot should visit the show's Facebook page, facebook.com/americanidiotbroadway to learn the specific locations and times of the calls. The show is still playing here in New York, so visit americanidiotonbroadway.com for more information and to purchase tickets. New Foo For You A brand new Foo Fighters song, "Rope," from their upcoming record, Wasting Light , is now available for streaming on foofighters.com ! It has a delicious opening guitar lick...